Ryan Carp
I participated in a handful of pro bono projects during my 1L year at UVA Law, and I found the experience to be invaluable. As someone who came to law school to make a career transition from the business world, I viewed pro bono as an incredible opportunity to develop my legal skills, explore my various areas of interest, and make a tangible impact for clients and communities in need. I was able to accomplish each of those objectives with my projects last year.
In terms of legal skills, several of my pro bono projects primarily involved legal research and writing – I was given a legal question that my supervisor wanted me to look into and answer in a research memo. In doing so, I was able to put into practice what I had been concurrently learning in our Legal Research and Writing course, albeit with fewer guardrails and greater practical importance. I also developed a greater familiarity with legal research tools and case databases in the process – not only Westlaw and Lexis, but also the HUDOC database for the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Besides legal research and writing, I gained experience in direct client service, enhanced my ability to analyze and synthesize legal documents, and strengthened my time-management skills.
As for my areas of interest, I was able to participate in a diverse set of projects across different legal fields. These included civil rights (researching the First Amendment implications of anti-homelessness ordinances in Florida for Southern Legal Counsel), international human rights law (investigating the ECHR’s procedural requirements for a pending case from the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the UVA Law International Human Rights Law Clinic), immigration law (supporting a special immigrant visa application through the International Refugee Assistance Project), and criminal law (reviewing case submissions for the UVA Law Innocence Project Pro Bono Clinic). Through each of these experiences, I gained a greater understanding of what it would be like to practice in those areas – this has helped me to further clarify my intended career path in public service.
Finally, I loved being able to make a tangible impact on real-world legal issues through my pro bono projects. During my 1L year, I sometimes felt as though what I was learning in the classroom was not necessarily what I came to law school for. However, by participating in pro bono projects, I was able to balance out my 1L doctrinal courses with practical experiences that connected me to causes and communities that I care deeply about. As a result, my pro bono projects truly enriched my 1L experience at UVA Law.